Getaway to Pondicherry

After a long time I was out for a travel and this time it was the small beach town Pondicherry. It was the end of February and weather was perfect to visit here with family. We started little late in morning at around eight. Quickly we could hit the Chennai highway. We stopped in between at a roadside eatery to have breakfast. After sometime we left Chennai highway for Pondicherry road. Road from here to up-to Pondicherry was not in the good state. Construction work was going on and the road was severely damaged. It was good that we had Innova cab, which still provided much comfort in endless series of potholes. After a more than seven hour journey we entered into Pondicherry state. It was almost four of evening when we reached there. After so long journey, a short rest was much needed. Fortunately hotel booked was quite comfortable. Hotel Lotus Pondi, where I had booking was very near to beach. Hotel rooms were clean and all the facilities required were available but bed was of small size. Hotel reception is adorable and staff is courteous. Given the cost of stay it was a well find and a great value for money. Overall staying in Lotus Pondy hotel was very much comfortable and highly recommended for budget travelers.

After a very short break we went to the beach which was just at walking distance. Reaching to beach was very mesmerizing particularly after the long travel. We saw the French memorial and had some good photos. Breeze coming from sea was very soothing. It was evening time so there was a decent crowd. We had a walk along sea shore called as MG road. We saw Gandhi statue, secretariat and old light house; and had a good cup of tea before turning back to our hotel. That two hours on beach took off our tiredness. After some time in hotel, we went for a walk outside which is called as French colony. Seeing the old buildings in french architecture and House-names in French was great. We got a small north Indian dhaba where we got our dinner packed. After a simple but tasty dinner we went for the sleep.

Next morning we woke up early. After getting ready we went to Sri Vinayagar temple, which is one of the oldest and renowned temple of Pondy. From there we went to Sir Aurobindo Ashram, which is a must for a traveller coming to Pondicherry. Then we went to beach side restaurant and had great breakfast and tea. We went back to our hotel and packed our stuffs. Now we moved to Auroville which is founded as global spiritual city. It was a drive to outskirts of Pondicherry. At the entrance we got a video introduction session and then we moved to the view point by walk. We saw the sacred Banyan tree on the way. After a long walk we reached to the view point to witness a great architectural monument. From Auroville we started back for Bangalore. We thought of visiting Tiruvannamalai temple which is one of the oldest temple of Tamilnadu but it was closing time when we reached there and could not go inside. After taking short breaks for lunch and tea we reached to our home by seven with some good memories of Pondicherry.